This invention pertains to a pulley construction, and more particularly to an arrangement for connecting two facing pulley halves together.
It is known to form a pulley by stamping a pair of identical pulley halves, each having a hub portion, positioning the pulley halves such that the hub portions abut and face each other, and riveting the hub portions together. The pulley halves each include a flared outer peripheral portion so that, when the halves are riveted together, a V-shaped groove is defined about the periphery of the pulley assembly.
Another known method of forming a pulley is by employing a spinning operation, in which a blank is spun into a one-piece pulley.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pulley constructed of a pair of identical pulley halves secured together through a unique arrangement which prevents the pulley halves from slipping relative to each other after assembly. It is a further object of the invention to provide a pulley construction in which a hub member provides the means by which the pulley halves are secured together. It is yet another object of the invention to provide a pulley construction which is simple in its components and in its assembly, yet which provides highly satisfactory performance.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a pulley is made up of a pair of disk-shaped pulley halves, which will be referred to as disks, each of which includes an inner hub portion having an opening therethrough. The disks are adapted to face each other such that the hub portions of each disk are in an abutting relationship with each other. When so positioned, the openings provided in the hub portions are aligned. A hub member is adapted to be inserted through the aligned openings in the disks. The hub member includes one or more annular side walls, which are preferably located in close proximity to the edges of the openings provided in the hub portions of the disks. An area of the hub member side wall located on either side of the opposite outwardly facing surfaces of the disks is deformed outwardly. The outwardly deformed portions of the hub member side wall are in contact with the opposite outwardly facing surfaces of the disk hub portions, whereby the disk hub portions are sandwiched between the outwardly deformed portions of the hub member side wall. With this arrangement, the disks are securely connected together. The invention further provides an arrangement for preventing slippage between the disks when they are secured together. In accordance with this aspect of the invention, one or more notches are formed in the hub portion of each disk, with the notches extending outwardly from the opening formed in the disk hub portion. In a preferred form, a series of notches are formed in the disk hub portion, with the notches being evenly spaced about the periphery of the opening. When the disks are abutted together, the notches in the disk hub portions are aligned with each other. The outwardly deformed portions of the hub member side wall are deformed into the aligned notches. That is, the outwardly deformed portions of the hub member side wall located over the notches are bent inwardly to partially fill the space defined by the notches, making positive contact with the edges of the notches. This acts to prevent the disks from rotating relative to each other after the pulley halves are secured together by the hub member.
The invention further contemplates a method of constructing a pulley from a pair of pulley halves or disks, substantially in accordance with the foregoing summary.
The invention still further contemplates a method of joining a pair of parts, each of which has an opening formed therethrough, substantially in accordance with the foregoing summary.
Various other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.